Columbia Law School Professor Available for Comment on FTC v. Actavis (ACT) U.S. Supreme Court Pharmaceutical Patent Settlement Case

New York, June 17, 2013—Columbia Law School Professor C. Scott Hemphill is available to comment on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today in FTC v. Actavis, a case dealing with reverse payment settlements in the pharmaceutical industry.

Professor Hemphill has researched and written about reverse payment settlements extensively, and his work is cited in today’s opinion, which held 5-3 that courts reviewing such agreements should apply the “rule of reason” to determine whether they violate antitrust laws.

“Having a patent is not a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Professor Hemphill said about the decision. “The usual rules of competition still apply, to drug makers just like everybody else.”

To schedule an interview with Professor Hemphill, please call the Law School’s Public Affairs Office at 212-854-2650, or email him directly at: hemphill@law.columbia.edu.

The Law School also has a studio on campus equipped with an ISDN line and IFB capability for radio and television interviews Monday through Friday. Please contact the Public Affairs Office for bookings: 212-854-2650 or publicaffairs@law.columbia.edu.

Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, stands at the forefront of legal education and of the law in a global society. Columbia Law School combines traditional strengths in corporate law and financial regulation, international and comparative law, property, contracts, constitutional law, and administrative law with pioneering work in intellectual property, digital technology, tax law and policy, national security, human rights, sexuality and gender, and environmental law.